Lefties' bad luck

Published 12:05 pm, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Why are people left-handed? It’s not all genetic. Scientists believe one’s handedness, left, right or mixed, is due primarily to how a baby’s brain develops in the womb and may be related to stress.

But there’s no consensus on this yet.

About 10 percent of people are lefties. Research increasingly shows, according to the Wall Street Journal, a propensity toward some disorders:

Left-handedness appears to be associated with a greater risk for a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders. While lefties make up about 10% of the overall population, about 20% of people with schizophrenia are lefties, for example. Links between left-handedness and dyslexia, ADHD and some mood disorders have also been reported in research studies.

The reasons for this aren’t clear. Scientists speculate it could be related to a concept known as brain lateralization. The brain has two halves. Each performs primarily separate, specialized functions, such as language processing, which mainly takes place in the left hemisphere. There is lots of communication between the hemispheres.

This is interesting, but I wouldn’t be too concerned if I were left-handed (that includes you, mom).

Lefties also have their advantages, and it may be a precursor to greatness. Six of the last 12 U.S. presidents after all, including Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush, have been lefties. So was Babe Ruth. And lots of other famous people in history.

That’s anecdotal evidence. What’s not anecdotal evidence is the salary a starting left-handed pitcher can claim in the major leagues.